Harsh Lessons
by StubbornTenshi
Summary: Harry and Tom get together, but how? and will Harry's new family and love last? Rated T for now. Ch.4 up!
1. Chapter 1

Ok, this was a plot bunny that came and bit me. I have ideas for before and after these scenes but I need to know if it's even worth going on with this plot. So PLEASE review!!!

**Harsh Lessons**

When Harry woke, he found himself alone in the bed, Tom's side was cold, he was obviously long gone. Harry's heart panged but he brushed it off.

_Don't be selfish, you know he's probably got important work to be doing, him being the Dark Lord and all. _Harry thought.

After a couple of moments Harry got up and dressed quickly. Once he was ready he left the room to explore the Manor properly since, he thought with a slight blush, yesterday's arrival hadn't exactly allowed him to look at his surroundings too much.

With this thought Harry set off down the corridor.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Several hours later Harry was walking along yet another corridor when he heard voices coming from one of the rooms to his left.

He stopped for a moment then slowly went up to the door. It took a few seconds for the voices to come into focus but what Harry heard made him wish that he could forget them.

"_And what about that Potter brat? I heard you had brought him with you when you came here."_ Said a voice Harry didn't recognise.

"_He's none of your business, Alexander,"_ This voice Harry recognised as Tom's.

"_Don't be like that, Riddle. He interests me. I mean, he must be amazing to have captured your attention, so what's so special about him?"_

What Harry heard next made his heart break within his chest.

"_What makes you think there is anything special about that brat? Though I will admit that he was a good fuck, for a virgin. What else would I keep him around for?"_

"_Oh, I don't know maybe …" _

The other voice continued, but Harry was fast moving out of earshot by this point, running as fast as he could, as hard as he could without crashing into anything.

_I was such a fool!_

By now the tears falling one by one from his eyes were clouding his vision. So much so that he didn't even see Severus in the corridor as he ran past.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Severus had been walking towards Tom's office when he saw Harry running past him with tears in his eyes and a look on his face as though someone had just ripped his heart out.

He continued looking after Harry long after the boy had gone out of sight then, with a quick shake of his head, he turned to the door of Tom's office and knocked on the door.

"_Enter,"_ said the voice of the Dark Lord.

Opening the door, Severus entered to see Lord Voldemort sitting at his desk with someone in the seat across from him.

As this stranger turned to look at Severus, he realised that this was Alexander Fidel, a vampire who had become an ally in the First Rise, an individual who had always put Severus's instincts on high alert, and for good reason. This man was the most dangerous, manipulative bastard – except for Dumbledore – that Severus had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

"Ah, Severus, you remember Alexander, don't you?" said Voldemort quietly, gazing at Fidel, like one would a dangerous, possibly feral, animal.

"Of course, my Lord," Severus managed to growl out. All of his instincts were screaming at his to attack the man in front of him before he could harm any of Severus's _family_ as he had done previously with his old family.

He knew that Harry's tears had something to do with this man, and _that_ was absolutely unacceptable.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment in private, my Lord."

"Certainly, Severus. Alexander, would you mind if we continued this meeting tomorrow? I know it is slightly inconvenient but Severus only comes to me if an urgent matter comes to his attention." Said Tom, his eyes now back on Severus.

"If I must, though you owe me, Riddle." sighed Fidel as he apparated out of the Manor with a **crack**.

Tom quickly threw up wards and Silencing Charms around the room before turning back to Severus.

"What is it, Sev?" he said, getting up from his chair and coming around to the other side of his desk.

"What were you talking to Fidel about Tom?"

"Nothing much, just him trying to butt into things that don't concern him, as usual. Why?"

"Did you mention Harry at all?"

When Severus saw Tom pale rapidly he had his answer,

"What did you say?" Tom whispered.

"I said 'did you mention Harry?', but your reaction told me all I needed to know. You said something to cover up in front of Fidel and _god dammit!_ I think Harry heard whatever it was that you said!" Sev's voice had gone deadly quiet for mist of his speech but by the end it had risen almost to a shout.

Silence.

"Are you serious, Sev?" Tom's voice was trembling slightly.

"Deadly." Was the biting reply.

And with that Tom was off running out of the room, barely pausing to take down the wards before rushing on.

Severus sat for maybe a minute before Tom's anguished cry echoed off the walls of the Manor, startling all of the Death Eaters and house elves present. When Severus and everyone else reached the Dark Lord's chambers they saw Tom on his knees on the floor, a piece of parchment clutched in his hand, in front of the open window.

Harry had gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Oh My GOD! I'm so sorry I didn't update faster but after writing the first bit my muse went totally silent till yesterday!

Ok here is the next part (sorry it's so short, the chapters will get longer I promise!):

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tom hadn't moved in four hours.

Severus was starting to lose patience.

"Tom?"

"…"

"Tom!"

"Thomas Riddle!"

"…he left…"

"Yes, you idiot! And whose fault is that!"

_Sigh_

"Look, just sitting there is not going to get him back. So get your ass up and go find him!"

"What's the use? He hates me now."

"What. The. _Hell_. Is. Wrong. With. You! You just broke Harry's heart and he thinks that you used him! You go out there and you bloody find him! Because both you and I know that isn't true! So get your _fucking ass_ in gear and sort this mess out before he falls back into Dumbledore's clutches!"

"Sev…I-I can't lose him again. I can't live without him again! I can't! I will truly go insane." Tom clenched his fists so tightly that Severus was afraid that he would break the skin of his palms. 

Reaching over Severus grasped both of Tom's hands, gently forcing him to loosen his grip.

"So go find him and never let him come to harm again, either by your hand or that old coot's meddling. Straighten this out and prove to him that you really do love him. He needs you as much as you need him, you know."

Tom breathed in shakily, slowly straightening up.

"Right. Here I come Harry!"


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: …My name does not begin with J

Disclaimer: …My name does not begin with J.K. and the last time I looked my surname was definitely not Rowling so I think it's safe to assume that I do not own Harry Potter in any way shape or form! –Cries- doesn't stop me wanting to though –sigh-

Next part (finally):

xXx

Harry was flying. The thought that if he didn't concentrate he could fall off or crash was the only reason he was not still crying.

After hearing those words coming out of Tom's mouth Harry had run to the room he had woken up in – 'Tom's room' as his mind kept saying – grabbed a pen and paper from the desk and wrote a quick note that caused tears to again spring into his eyes, several of which fell onto the paper, before snatching his Firebolt from the corner it had been left in and slinging his cloak around his shoulders and stuffing his invisibility cloak into a pocket.

With one long glance at the room where he had thought he had found happiness he turned, jerked the veranda doors open and took off.

It had been hours since then and night had long since fallen.

'_I should probably land'_ Harry thought, sighing.

Finding a clearing took another couple of minutes but eventually Harry found himself a sheltered space to curl up in. Without the thought of flying to keep him occupied he broke into quiet sobs that echoed around the clearing.

It had all started with a letter.

_Flashback_

_A tapping drew the Boy Who Liveds' attention to the window where an owl he didn't recognise was perched impatiently rapping a claw against the glass. Harry jumped up and ran to open the window, letting in the peeved owl who dropped it's letter then immediately flew back out._

"_Ok, that was weird" Harry said quietly to himself._

_Approaching the letter that was lying on the carpet Harry saw that it was addressed to him. He picked it up slowly, relaxing slightly when nothing happened, and opened it._

_Harry,_

_Hold on,_

_Tom._

"_Wha..." was all that Harry got out before he felt the sickening pull of a portkey._

_He landed seconds later straight on his rear, staring up into the amused face of Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort._

"_Hello, Har-"_

_End Flashback_

"What are you doing out here all alone, bouya?"

Harry jerked out of his remembering and leapt up, spinning to face the sudden speaker. The stranger was a tall man of about 30 years. He had dark, almost black, hair and bright, amused grey eyes.

"Who are you?!" Harry cried, backing away.

"Calm down, bouya. I'm not here to hurt you! My name is Alexander, I was just passing through when I saw you here." The man, Alexander, said putting his hands up to show he wasn't holding a wand.

Harry slowly moved back to his previous position, keeping his eyes on Alexander at all times. _How stupid would it be if he trusted the man just because he said he wasn't going to hurt him!_

"Why did you call me bouya?" he asked slowly.

"Hmm? Oh that just means 'boy' or 'kid'. Sorry I've spent a while in Japan and I tend to slip into Japanese occasionally. Does it bother you?"

"No, not really, I've just never heard the word before. What are _you_ doing out here anyway?"

"Like I said, just passing through. I was heading home. It's not that far from here."

"Really?"

"Yes. It's just in the next valley over."

By now Alexander was sitting a couple of metres away from Harry's position. He shifted, adjusting his cloak around him. Harry was slowly relaxing but still watched the man carefully for any sudden movements.

"Now what _are_ you doing out here? I mean, apart from a couple of houses around here there's nothing."

"It's complicated…I really don't want to talk about it, especially to someone I just met. No offence."

"None taken. But was it really that bad that you're out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Yes." was the short answer.

Suddenly a crack filled the clearing and Tom appeared at the edge of the tree line.

"Harry!" he shouted when he spotted Harry's form on the other side from him. Then, "Fidel?!"

"What?" Harry exclaimed, leaping to his feet for the second time.

"Harry, get away from him!" Tom shouted.

"Like I'm supposed to trust you!" Harry screamed, backing away.

"You really should have, you know, bouya." came Alexander's voice from behind Harry. Harry spun around just in time for

"_Stupify__."_

"_Harry!!"_

Harry fell, straight into Alexander Fidel's arms.

Fidel looked up at Tom, who was sprinting as fast as he could across the glade towards them, and adjusting Harry's form in his arms…smirked and apparated away.

xXx

I am **so** sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up. I totally lost what I was going to write for, like, 2 months! And unfortunately this will probably keep happening knowing my brain! So don't expect much from me!

Thanks to all of you who reviewed and who added this to your alerts or favourites!

See you soon! (Hopefully)


	4. Chapter 4

Harry P

Yeah…I know. Really!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! Stop looking at me!

xXx

Harry P.O.V

My head was swimming in pain. As I lay on what felt like the softest bed I'd ever been on I ran over the last few minutes in my mind.

-

I had woken to a room that definitely wasn't Tom's. It took me a couple of seconds to remember what had happened before I started to try to get off the bed, only to find that I was tied to the bed by my wrists and ankles.

"Now, now we can't have you hurting yourself, can we, my dear?" said a voice from the doorway. The man, Fidel, approached the bed as I really started to struggle. He smirked down at me, "We wouldn't want to ruin that perfect skin of yours. As much as the bruises would look stunning against that creamy white canvas, it'll have to wait a while."

"You! What the hell do you want?! Let me go!" I shouted, still yanking at my restraints.

"I'm sorry, pretty one." He said looking not at all sorry, "But I have plans that unfortunately entail you staying right where you are, for now. And as to what I want, well it's simple. I. Want. You. And I always get what I want. Why do you think I got you away from our dear Tom?

"What do you mean?" I whispered, dread beginning to coil in my stomach.

"What I mean is that I heard you approaching down the hallway outside Tom's office and asked him about the one topic I knew he would lie about completely, you. After that it was simple to keep him talking long enough to make you run and keep running." He paused looking regretful, "If only Snape had not come in at that point or I would have had more time to ensure that Tom couldn't find you again."

By this stage, tears had begun to escape from my eyes at how we had all been manipulated by this man (if you could even call him _that_).

"You mean…oh God!" my breath was coming out in short painful pants as I tried desperately not to break down. And the bastard smiled! I tried to turn my head away to escape that smile but he just caught my jaw, forcing me to look at him.

"Yes, I tricked him and I tricked you. Now, don't look at me like that. It's not the end of the world, just the opposite. It's the beginning of your new life. With me." And with that he left the room, leaving me with the realisation that I was totally alone.

xXx

AN: I'm not even going to say it this time. You know and I know what I should be saying and we both know that it's probably going to happen for just about every chapter unless a miracle happens! Thanks for staying with this anyway! And thanks for the reviews! I'll try and at least reply to those even if I don't get the chapters done very fast!

Ja ne!


End file.
